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Special SMO Glasgow event to promote Gaelic music and culture



Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, is to stage a special event in Glasgow later this month in partnership with Ceòl ’s Craic. The Ceòl Mòr Ostaig event will take place on 27 April in the city’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) and a concert featuring renowned piper Allan MacDonald, Gaelic singing great Christine Primrose and the college’s music degree students will provide the focal point for the day’s programme of events. The evening will include a drama sketch with Arthur Donald and Catrìona Lexy Campbell.

Ceòl Mòr Ostaig will form part of the college’s 40th Anniversary celebrations and in addition to the music there will be a series of workshops on offer with Gaelic lessons and tuition in Gaelic song. There will also be a presentation with information on Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

Ceòl ’s Craic are also to show two short Gaelic films on 23 April with a Skye and SMO connection, ‘The Crimson Snowdrop’ and ‘Iain Uasal’, as part of the Ceòl Mòr Ostaig celebration. The award-winning short, ‘The Crimson Snowdrop’, is set on Skye while ‘Iain Uasal’ is a programme on the late Sir Iain Noble who was instrumental in the establishment of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. The screening is from 6pm in the CCA and admission is free.

This is the second year of Ceòl Mòr Ostaig and according to Decker Forrest, Course Leader for the BA (hons) Gaelic and Traditional Music: “The Ceòl ’s Craic concert follows the Programme’s hugely successful 40th Anniversary March tour where the students performed at nine different locations throughout the Highlands and Islands and raised over £1,000 for local charities. On the night, listeners will hear the next generation of professional Gaelic-speaking musicians, on top form, alongside two of Gaeldom’s greatest exponents of traditional Gaelic music.”

Sabhal Mòr will again be working in partnership with Glasgow-based Ceòl ’s Craic to organise the event. Ceòl ’s Craic was established in 2004 to promote and encourage contemporary Gaelic culture in Glasgow.

Alison Buchanan, Ceòl ’s Craic Co-ordinator, said: “Ceòl ’s Craic is delighted to welcome a talented group of musicians and actors from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, in a year which sees the college celebrate their milestone anniversary of 40 years. We are all really looking forward to a day full of music and banter of the highest quality.”

Allan MacDonald is recognised as one of the finest pipers in Scotland. He has played at many festivals, concerts and competitions throughout the world and in his music he has returned to the Gaelic roots of pipe music.

Lewis singer Christine Primrose is renowned as one the most talented traditional Gaelic singers today. She has won several awards over the years, which include prizes at the Royal National Mod, the Pan Celtic Festival, and the Scots Traditional Music Awards. She also teaches Gaelic song at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

Students from the Gaelic college’s BA (Hons) in Gaelic and Traditional Music will complete the line-up for the concert. For more information or for tickets contact Alison Buchanan at info@ceolscraic.org

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